


Have Faith In This Fragile World

by SilentlyFighting



Series: One Shots! (5sos) [8]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Annoying Mali, Bad Boy Ashton, Bad Boy Calum, Bad Boy Luke, Bullied Michael, Bullying, High School, Hurt Michael, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Love Bites, M/M, Makeover, Minor Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin, Nerd Michael, Past Michael Clifford/Original Male Character(s) - Freeform, Protective Ashton, Protective Calum, Protective Luke, Scratching, Teasing, cuddly calum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-24 00:45:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7486734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentlyFighting/pseuds/SilentlyFighting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael Clifford is well known in his school, not for being popular, far from it, he is the nerd. The goody-two-shoes hasn't had the best past but his peers do not know this and a couple of the football team decide that he is their next target. A mysterious group of boys make an appearance, saving him multiple times, and when Michael runs out of money to buy food, they even find ways to get him food.</p><p>The boys do not scare him that much but they certainly catch his attention. Michael learns the names of two of the boys but the leader is set to keep his identity a secret. But, when Michael has another run in with the football team and they use him as bait, will the boys identity reveal itself?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Have Faith In This Fragile World

I carefully swap my books around for the lessons coming up, knowing I won’t have enough time between lessons to change them over so I have to carry them around until lunch. Fortunately, my schedule for the day is not too bad so I don’t have too many books to weigh me down – it's better than I had yesterday so I am not complaining. I roll my eyes when I hear a group of particularly rambunctious students pass by behind me. I shut my locker and check the lock before slipping my bag back onto my shoulders. I look back down the corridor when I notice it is getting gradually quieter and people are turning their attention to the football team who have just made an appearance; it is almost silent for a few seconds before cheers erupt. I roll my eyes once again – of course everyone in this school is still hung up about the team winning the game last night, I didn’t go but since the team captain insisted on adding everyone’s Facebook... well it was all over social media last night, same with the events of the after party, they were up there too.

I turn away and step away from the wall to start to make my way to class but I am shoved back again by a few of the team as they pass, snickering away to themselves when they hear the sound of the impact as I hit the lockers. I grumble under my breath, apparently not being quiet enough as three of the team whip round and make their way back towards me. Everyone in the corridor freezes, wondering what is going to happen.

“Can't you see we’re walking through, nerd?” One of them spits into my face, making me recoil as far as I can away from him. I nod, both to answer his question and to show I heard him. “Think that just because you’re a little know-it-all it gives you the right to walk wherever you please, huh?”

Before I can reply, the crowd parts quickly to let three bodies through - all dressed in black and glaring dangerously at anyone that doesn’t move fast enough. They walk in a formation, the leader of the group quite obviously the one at the front and the other two his little sidekicks but equally as terrifying judging by the looks they throw at a few members of the crowd.

The one at the front seems to only give me a glance as he assesses the situation before his eyes zero in on the two holding me, more precisely on where their hands are surely going to leave bruises. He motions something to the two behind him before they step forward and rip the guys away and slam them back against the lockers either side of me, one arm across the back of their throats and the other holding one of their arms high up against their backs in an uncomfortable fashion.

“Do we have a problem Isaac or are you stepping up your efforts to piss me off to the extreme?” The leader speaks, voice low, almost like a growl.

‘Isaac’ is obviously wary of the guy but still stands taller to answer him. “He needed to be taught a lesson, I’m sure you know all about that so why don’t you run along and we’ll be finished in a second.”

The other guy laughs bitterly, “Oh, I think you misunderstand, it was a rhetorical question. You see, you’re going to take your little followers and walk away without another word. Its early in the morning and the day has barely started, but I have no qualms about making sure you don’t see the rest of it.” He speaks calmly, almost too calm to be real in comparison to his words.

‘Isaac’ gulps, throwing me another glance as he seems to sum up whether it is worth it to try and get in a shot before taking off but obviously decides against it as he steps away and  throws a glance towards his buddies who are still thoroughly pinned to the wall either side of me. I am frozen still, unsure if a wrong move would move the mystery guys sour mood onto me so I opt for staying still and quiet in hopes that I get to stay out of it.

The mystery guys buddies wait for him to motion them again before turning fluidly and throwing, quite viciously may I add, the two players towards the rest of the team, before moving to stand behind the guy again as he waits for everyone to disperse. When most of the crowd has left he throws me a glance, nodding his head in recognition that I am there before leading them away and disappearing into the crowd, my eyes follow them until I am no longer able to see them anymore.

I stand shocked for a few seconds before jolting out of my thoughts and rushing towards class, hoping that I can focus on my lessons without going back to thinking over this morning’s events. I allow myself another minute or so on the subject after dropping down into my assigned seat, the class still relatively empty but slowly filling up.

I am a nerd, which is an undisputed fact, I get top grades in almost every class – gym has never been my strong suit but I try my best and do some working out in my free time to improve my chances – and do whatever it takes to impress my peers, to get some recognition for the effort I put in. My grades are more important to me that any reputation, they give me a sense of worth and they are the basis of any attention I get from my workaholic parents who spend 90% of their year away from home on some business trip or another – barely remembering to come home for important things such as birthdays and Christmas. The only down side to being me is that nobody wants to be associated with the nerd, I am only useful when it comes to getting the other person a good grade when we are assigned group work, so I have nobody that can help me out when I get pulled into confrontational situations. I try to stay positive though – with no friends, it means that nobody else gets dragged into any situations by association or through feeling like they have to defend my honour. Today is the first time that anyone has ever stepped in and stopped it from escalating. It is also, honestly, the first time I have seen any of the three boys and I can’t help but wonder – why would three boys, who obviously carry a pretty hefty reputation if my classmates reactions are anything to go by, stick up for the scum of the school?

If I can’t defend myself then why should anybody else feel obliged to fight my battles for me, I am not worth getting injured over. I focus my attention back onto the lesson as the teacher enters, doing a quick headcount before shutting the door ready to begin, but allow myself one last thought – I always say that we should always learn from our mistakes, but I am curious now, maybe this is one mistake that I don’t feel like learning from quite yet.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the rest of the week, I push the event to the back of my mind as I throw myself into work and surviving on the bare minimum that I can actually cook since my parents are once again away. You would think that by now I would have learnt my lesson and learnt to cook but no, what has got to be four years later and I am still as incapable of cooking as I was then. The benefit of not having friends is that nobody is around to worry about me not being looked after properly or that I always lose weight around the time that my parents are away – I do my best but my cooking skills are pretty limited so I order stuff in every now and again and the rest of the time is spent eating bland microwave meals or Mac ’n’ Cheese which gets boring pretty quickly. It’s not a healthy lifestyle but it’s that or starve so I do my best – which reminds me that I have to scrape together some money for groceries pretty soon or I will have to starve.

I huff, looking over the amount of work I have left – only a few questions – before deciding to finish this later and do the groceries now. I find the money my parents left to tide me over before they left, assessing how much time I have left until their return and comparing it to how much I have left – looks like today’s haul is going to have to be smaller since I’m not going to have enough if I spend too much now.

I take the amount I have mentally allotted myself for this spree before pulling on a coat and beanie, shoving my feet into a pair of my most comfortable boots. Its moments like this that I wish I had taken my parents up on the offer when they offered to pay for driving lessons for me to get my license, it would have saved the long walk it takes to get to and from the shop every week or so depending on how quickly my food supply runs out.

I walk briskly, wanting to be able to get to the shops and back home before evening set in. I’m not afraid of the dark or anything like that, I just prefer not to be around when it gets dark – you hear about the kind of stuff that goes on and I don’t particularly feel like becoming a victim of it any time soon so I always make sure I will be home before it starts to get dark to avoid any possible chance of it happening, even going to the extent of avoiding alleyways and locking windows and doors as soon as I am safely in my house – I take no chances with this kind of stuff.

I spend the money carefully, trying to avoid feeling downcast about the situation I am going to find myself in very soon. I am running out of money quicker than expected so I have to be so careful with the small amount I have left that I can only buy cheap stuff and only in small quantities...looks like my plans to avoid starving at some point are going to go down the drain at some point unless I just skip days and eat every two days or something, I don’t even think I have enough to last a week from today if I eat every day.

I carry my one and a half bags of food home, watching my surroundings more carefully as I feel the night air draw in but sigh in relief when I spot my house, speeding up my pace to reach it faster and locking the door behind me when I slip through the door, welcoming the feeling of safety it brings. I put the spare stuff away and heat up something small to eat tonight before heading up to my room which is basically the only room that gets used when my parents are away.

I finish my food quickly, not that there was much of it to begin with, and then finish up my worksheets to pass the remaining time. Once I am satisfied with my answers, I put them in my bag with everything else I will need tomorrow so I only have to grab my bag before I leave in the morning and not have to worry about if I have everything.

I change into some warm clothes, checking the window is shut before pulling a spare blanket out of my cupboard to provide an extra layer of warmth as I settle in for the night. Winters coming so the nights are getting colder, this is not the best time of year to resort to going hungry but you do what you have to when it’s all you have.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

School is as busy as normal when I arrive, students catching up with their friends even though they saw them yesterday – apparently the time between the end of school and this morning is such a dramatic time that there is always something to talk about.

I work my way along the corridor, finally getting to my locker and being able to swap around one of my books for one that is in my locker. Just as I am shutting my locker and checking my pockets to make sure I have everything is when I realise that I have no money to buy any lunch with. I slump against the locker, banging my head against it softly in defeat which gets a few glances but I am again ignored when they realise its only me. I whimper before pulling myself together and deciding to just deal with it, it won’t be the last time that this is going to have to happen so I might as well just get used to it now.

I work my way through the day, resorting to ignoring my stomach when it decides to start rumbling in protest 15 minutes before lunch is meant to start. I wander, on auto pilot, into the canteen before slumping down into a seat when I remember my current predicament. I have no work to do therefore leaving me with no distraction so I shove my headphones into my ears and using my bag as a pillow to rest my head on, hoping that lunch and the rest of the day passes quickly so I can work out what I am going to do about food tonight.

I can still hear the faint sound of the lunch room around me but it’s mostly drowned out by my music. I feel a presence pass behind me by ignore it, they’re probably just passing by on the way to their friends table. It’s a few minutes before I feel another presence pass by halting for a second before moving away again. I lift my head curiously, spotting a tray next to my bag with a full meal on it – main meal, dessert and drink. I straighten up to look around before spotting a piece of paper tucked under the bottle.

_Don’t go hungry, it’s not good for your health or your brain - you need that brain of yours so you shouldn’t be going without._

I take one last look around before moving my bag away and putting my headphones in my pocket, pulling the tray closer, I eat what I can, thankful to whoever for paying out of their own pocket for me to be able to eat today since I can’t guarantee that I will get anything tonight if I have to ration my food supply as much as I think I might have to.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As it turns out, my rationing plan did have to be done so by the next morning I am pretty hungry but fortunately I remembered to bring some change to get something out of the snack machine today – it won’t fill me up but it’s something. I do a quick book check and swap over the things I won’t need until after lunch for a book that I am going to need before then. I turn to face the rest of the corridor, leaning back against the locker to rest – I should have known that the distinct lack of food would have more of an effect that just hunger. Turning my head to face the front doors, I spot the football players from last week coming through, the Isaac guy looks up and down the corridors before moving towards me. I know I should move while I can but I feel so tired right now that I’m not 100% sure I could get away fast enough even if I wanted to. Just when he is about to reach me, one of mystery guys followers appears out of literally nowhere, taking my bag and putting it on one of his shoulders as he wraps one of his arms around my shoulder and walks me away quickly. I stumble along beside him before we come to a stop outside my classroom. He seems to be waiting for something, watching the end of the corridor that we had just come from.

“T-thank you..?” I trail off, waiting for him to fill in his name but he says nothing so I just sigh, checking the time on my phone before sliding down the wall and sitting with head leaned back.

He sends me a quick glance, nodding in recognition this time before crouching and seeming to give me a once over. I study him while he is this close, wondering if there is a chance that I have seen him before but just never noticed but I come up with a nothing.

Blonde hair styled into a quiff, vibrant blue eyes and a lip ring. Dressed completely in black, though I think I can see a chain around his neck but whatever is on the end of it is hidden underneath his shirt. Even if I never learn who he is, he has a look about him that you won’t forget – I hadn’t noticed it then because I had been more focused on the other guy but this guy is just as memorable.

I sigh softly, letting my eyes slip closed as I listen to the hum of noise coming from the main corridor. I feel a hand shake my shoulder gently which makes me open my eyes, seeing the guy give me another once over before meeting my gaze, the question quite obvious in his eyes.

“I’m fine; shouldn’t you be with your friends anyway? Being seen with me might throw your reputation down the drain.” I mumble, shifting to sit up better.

He shrugs before turning his head towards the end of the corridor, it’s completely silent from the corridor now but I pay it no mind as I let myself slump back resigned to the fact that I’m not going to get one word out of this guy. I shut my eyes as I hear footsteps, it’s bad enough that I’m on the floor with this guy crouching in front of me without having to face whoever is coming – and their side kick, I add mentally when I hear the other set of steps.

They stop around a foot or so away before the same voice from last week speaks. “He won’t hurt you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Yeah, because when I am scared of people I make sure I can’t see them so when they decide to batter me, it will come as a surprise.” I mumble sarcastically, opening one eye as I turn my head to face him. “I wasn’t worried about him hurting me, I’m just tired.”

The guy smirks, nodding to his buddy near me who stands and moves back to lean against the wall opposite. “That’s the most I’ve heard you say in one go since you arrived in this hellhole.”

I hum tiredly before grabbing my bag from where the blonde guy dropped it next to me earlier, hauling myself to my feet and using the wall for support. I see blondie shift but hold my hand out in a stop sign, taking a deep breath and sighing in relief when the bell rings, knowing that it marks the end of the conversation.

The boys fall into their formation before starting to leave. “Look after yourself Michael.” Is the last thing the leader says before they are off and disappearing once again.  I huff out a quiet, half-hearted laugh; of course he would know my name when I can’t even get a hint of his or any of his buddies’ names.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Classes go by painfully slowly; my stomach has been voicing its protests since last night so I was thankful when it finally shut up around an hour ago but its lunch time now. Instead of heading towards the canteen, I walk the opposite way and make my way to the football field. It is deserted right now since everyone is still in the process of getting lunch but students do hang out here so I won’t be completely alone. I find an empty seat at a bench on the opposite side of the field to the school, just wanting to be in my own little bubble for a while until I have to go back to schedules again.

I check my phone, seeing a text from my mum to remind me to have the house clean and tidy for when they get back in over a week and a half. The texts I get from my parents are so business-like that sometimes I forget how they used to be, how loving they once were before they got these jobs – it was like a switch got flipped and now I wonder whether they see me as a son anymore or if I am just another responsibility that keeps making them come home and stopping them from doing as much work as they want, I mean they even work when they’re home so what was the point in flying back.

That is the only message I have so I plug in my headphones and let my music play softly in my ears, resting my head on my bag much like I did last week as I have found that it is surprisingly comfortable. I feel a hard nudge a while later, making me look up quickly and squint against the assault of light that is gradually getting brighter as the sun makes an appearance. I pull my headphones out of my ears and turn to the source of the “nudge”, spotting a girl who is in maybe one of my classes.

“Are you Michael?” She asks, straight to the point. When I nod unsurely, she continues. “I was asked to deliver this. Hope it is worth the payment I got.” She drops a paper bag in my lap, glancing over my shoulder quickly, before strutting off again. I open the bag carefully and see a few snacks and a sandwich, I look around before turning back to the table, jumping when I spot mystery guy sitting on the other side of the table with his buddies standing behind him with their arms crossed.

“Eat up Michael. It looks like you could use it.” He states, leaning forwards and resting his crossed arms on the table.

“Where do you even come from? You just appear and disappear when you please and I never see you anywhere else.” I grumble half heartedly.

“So you look for us then?” he smirks.

“Wouldn’t you want to know who you’re dealing with when they keep appearing randomly in your life?” I reply, playing with the edge on the bag.

“Touché” He replies, observing me as I shoot his buddies nervous glances. I can’t help it, they never speak and one of them is terrifyingly muscular up close so I don’t want to say the wrong thing. “Do they scare you?” he motions with his head to them. Blondie’s eyes flickers to me before moving back to whatever he was watching before.

I shake my head. “N-no.”

“Are you sure? The stuttering shows the opposite. Who scares you more Michael, who is it that you are being careful for?” He smirks.

“None of you scare me. Your buddies are just creepy, they don’t talk and it’s weird.” I reply though my eyes watch the muscled one when he shifts, for a moment I am scared that he took offense to my words but its turns out he was just shifting for the hell of it.

The mystery guy look back towards the guy I’m watching before turning back. “You get used to it, though I do have the privilege of hearing them speak.” He pauses. “Out of the two of them, the one you’re currently terrified of is the least likely to hurt you.”

My eyes widen as they instantly shift to blondie, who sends me a smirk. I give him a once over before shaking my head and taking one of the candy bars out of the bag. “Are they going to always lurk in the shadows or will they be sitting down any time soon?”

“They can sit down if you want them to, what do you want them to do?”

I shift over so there is enough space for another person to sit on my side, as the guy turns to the other two and nods, them instantly moving into the spaces. Blondie sits on my side with me while the muscular one sits with mystery guy.

I softly move one of the snack bars closer to blondie, watching as his eyes move down to the bar before raising an eyebrow at me curiously.

“You trust him more even after I told you that he could hurt you... interesting. You read people a lot better than I originally thought, saw straight through the lie.”

“You tell them what to do constantly, if you wanted them to hurt someone then they would but you have, as far as I can tell, never told them to hurt me. Blondie here got me out of a beating this morning and didn’t reply to my thank you then so why shouldn’t I offer him something in the place of words?” I reply, before taking two more and sliding them across the table to them two. “And these are my thanks for last week.”

“It is unnecessary but we’ll take your offer if you really want us to.” Mystery guy mumbles after a while.

“Do I get names now or do I just have to stick to my mental nicknames for you for a while longer?”

Blondie shifts which puts me on edge for second but I put his random movements out of my mind as I turn my attention to mystery guy. He cocks his head to one side slightly, reminding me a bit of a puppy even if his appearance does state the obvious.

“Ask their names if you’re so curious.” Mystery guy smirks as if he already knows that I’ve tried this.

“Funny, I tried that earlier with blondie and he blanked me like I hadn’t spoken at all.” I grumble, messing with the wrapper of my snack.

“You didn’t need to know his name then. Now whether you know it or not doesn’t matter, who knows, maybe you’ll need it in the future. We must go now but we will see each other again.” Mystery guy responds as he stands, brushing away imagery dust of his jeans as the other two rise to follow him.

“Wait, what about your names?” I call as they start to move.

They freeze before mystery turns slowly, still walking backwards slowly. He points to blondie first then to the muscled one, naming them as he motions to them. “Luke and Ashton.”

Just before they fully disappear I make sure to call after them. “You still never told me your name mystery boy.” I think I hear a laugh in the distance but brush it off when I see that they are gone, turning back to the food I was given and digging in.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

The time passes quickly as the boys appear and disappear as they please, sometimes one on one, other times all three of them make an appearance though mystery guy never turns up on his own, but they never turn up in pairs either.

Food gets delivered to me by various students over the course of the next week and a half and I come to rely on this soon when I officially run out of food at home and am only able to buy small snacks to eat as money begins to properly run out. I have a feeling I know who is behind all of this but I’m not going to say anything since I am actually quite thankful but I don’t think they would even let me thank them, probably brushing it off as nothing or denying it all together.

Its lunchtime now and I am a little excited to go home since my parents are meant to be back today. I woke up an hour earlier this morning to clean up and make the house look satisfactory to my mum’s standards but I doubt they’ll even realise, too caught up in their work yet again. We may not be close but they’re my parents and I do miss them a little when they’re away.

I am just about finished swapping my books over for my afternoon classes when the locker is slammed in front of me and I am shoved face first into it and pinned. I have dropped my bag in the process but nothing has fallen out so I am thankful for that, at least I won’t have to pick up all of my stuff after whatever it is that Isaac wants now.

“Your little guard dogs aren’t here to protect you now. Did you think I’d forgotten that I didn’t get to teach you a lesson for your actions? You’re not as smart as you like to make people think if that’s what you thought.” Isaac spits right next to my ear as he pushes all of his weight against me so that I cannot move at all.

I know that he doesn’t actually expect an answer this time so I make no move to answer him. I don’t fully understand what he is going to do considering he is on his own; none of his buddies are anywhere to be seen, so it makes me wonder what his motives are.

“Now you’re going to be a good little boy and we’re going to take a nice little walk to the field to get my friends and then you’re going to be bait while we find your little guard dogs and make them watch as we beat the crap out of you.” He growls lowly, as he shoves my bag to me to put on before grabbing my arms behind my back and marching us toward the field.

I am no match to the team and don’t even stand a chance against one of them alone so I make no move to protest as I am shoved around as the team joke around and call out insults in the hope that I will try and get Mystery guy and his followers to come to me. But unfortunately, they’re out of luck because I won’t call out to them, I knew Isaac would catch up to me one day so I am not surprised by their actions.

Three of the football players who had gone off to try and find the boys appear from the building empty handed, having apparently not found them anywhere or even any evidence that they were every there to begin with – slightly creepy but ok.

“Where are your guard dogs hiding?” One of the players spits in my face, holding my jaw so tight I’m surprised it hasn’t bruised yet, as his buddy still holds me in place.

I meet his eyes but remain silent which seems to piss him off further as he punches me in the jaw hard enough for me to spit blood.

“I asked you a question, now answer me you little worm.”

“I don’t know.” I exclaim forcefully, making the guy step back surprised. “I only see them when they want me to; if they don’t want to be found then they are impossible to track. You think I haven’t tried to track them, to find out who they are so I can at least put a name to the people that randomly appear in my life and save my ass on a weekly basis.”

I don’t get to say another word as Isaac appears and hits me harder that the other guy did, making me see dark spots for a second or so. He hits me again, just as hard, when I give him a half hearted glare which makes the dark spots dance with more purpose.

“Shut up. I know you know where to find them so stop rambling and tell me or so help me, I’ll –“ he gets cut off by another voice though, from behind us.

“Heard you were looking for us, but please, continue what you were saying, I’m curious now. You’ll do what?” Mystery guys voice makes me slump in relief and maybe a little of that was because my legs were giving way but let’s not focus on that.

“Took you too long to turn up, so we started without you.” Isaac directs it at mystery guy. Three of the team grab the boys but they don’t fight and I am so confused, internally deflating when it looks like they aren’t going to do anything to stop what Isaac is about to do.. “No more protecting him, he learns his lesson this time and you get the pleasure of watching.”

There is a beat of silence before a fist comes towards my stomach, before it can even make contact, the boys are free and the guys who were holding them are on the floor groaning.

“Do it and I’ll floor every one of you, and if I get my hands on you Isaac, I will make sure you can no longer walk. That’s not even a threat, it’s a promise now fuck off before I change my mind.” Mystery guy is maybe three feet away while Luke and Ashton have hold of two of the team in some dangerous looking headlocks; one wrong move and I swear they could break their necks.

Most of the team back off apart from the guy holding me – more like holding me up but let’s not mention that too much – and Isaac who apparently never gets the memo on when not to push his luck. The guy lets me drop and they both deliver hard kicks to my ribs, one of them even going as far as to kick me in the head which knocks me out so I do not see what happens next.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

I slowly come round to the sound of my parents worried voices, which is weird because they don’t care what happens to me most of the time, so I just rule it out as a figment of my imagination. It takes a few seconds for me to get a grip of myself as I try to ignore the incessant thumping of my head reminding me that I got kicked in the head earlier.

I open my eyes slowly as my eyes take a few moments to adjust to the light in the room. Looking around carefully, so I don’t make my head pulse even more, I figure out that I am either at the schools nurses office or a hospital considering it is too clean and bland in here to be anything but one of those.

“Good, you’re awake. I just need to do a few tests then your free to go if everything is fine.” A guy walks in, talking rather loudly in my opinion, in a white coat – definitely not the school nurse so maybe that kick was a lot harder than I thought.

He does his checks, including testing my eyes reactions to light and all that stuff and some other stuff, he also weights me and measures my height. On the way out the door he declares that I have people waiting to visit me and that he will bring back the papers once they’re ready. Around 5 minutes after he left, he is back and this time he brings my parents with him.

My mum rushes over and engulfs me in a hug which makes me so confused, but I play along so it doesn’t raise suspicion with the doctor about amnesia or something stupid like that since I remember perfectly fine what happened.

“Oh my gosh, baby boy, you scared us when we heard you were rushed in after being kicked in the head during school hours.” She chokes out.

My dad doesn’t engulf me in a hug but I can see concern in his features which just adds to my confusion but I’m not going to say anything while the doctor is right there.

“Your son looks to be fine, probably got a killer headache but all reactions and responses seem to be in check but I would advise you to keep an eye on him for the next 48 hours and bed rest for at least the next 24 hours. I just wanted to raise a concern of mine about his weight as he seems to be on the low side for someone his age... does your son suffer any disorders that could explain this?”

Before my parents can answer I speak up though my voice sounds rough. “The only problem I have is my inability to cook. They had to leave on a business trip and my cooking skills are rusty.”

The doctor isn’t impressed with my answer but takes it none the less. “Fine but I still want you to come in next week so I can see if what you claim is true since you now have no excuses.”

With that he leaves again and I am left alone with my parents. I watch cautiously as my mum fusses over me and my dad does whatever it is he is doing.

“I thought you didn’t care about me anymore...” I rasp out.

“Oh Mikey, of course we care about you. We love you even if we are horrible at showing it. We work so much to get the funding you need to get into a good college and university if that’s the path you wish to take. If we knew that you were doing so badly we would have come home straight away.” My mum tries to reassure me.

“You're always so businesslike around me, I didn’t know how to act around you in case I did something wrong and made you disappointed in me.”

“Michael, we actually made a promise that we would stay as long as we could this time so we could spend time with our son. If we knew how much you struggled on your own then we would have made better arrangements for when we were away. You ran out of money and we should have known that but we failed you and that’s our issue, not yours. Never yours.” My dad speaks for the first time.

“I ran out of money but he took care of me, made sure to get me food everyday and kept me safe. All of this damage isn’t his fault either, he did his best but Isaac doesn’t know when to stop.” I mumble as I lean my head back.

“Who looked after you? And who is Isaac?” my mum asks as she tries to keep the conversation going and keep me awake in case I have a concussion I suppose.

“Isaac is on the football team, none of them particularly like a nerd like me.” I murmur, sitting up better so that I can lean back properly and not feel like my head is at an awkward angle.

“And the other boy?” My dad asks.

I shrug softly. “Never told me a name. He’s kind of mysterious and he's impossible to track, only being seen on his own terms, but he looked out for me and he tried to stop the football team, he did his best.” I mumble, I feel tired but I know I can’t really sleep. “Him and Luke and Ashton, they always helped me.”

The doctor comes back then and the paperwork gets sorted out, he also gives my parents more advice and then we are allowed to go home. I am allowed to sleep but I have to be woken up at regular intervals to make sure I am still responsive.

The next day I should technically be in school but instead my parents are both babying me and sucking up to try and make up for what they’ve missed. I just go along with it because I know they mean well and they will eventually settle down and hopefully just go back to the parents I used to know.

“What happened Mikey?” my mum asks carefully.

“I made the ‘fatal’ mistake of stepping out into the corridor to go to class while the football team were going past a few weeks ago, one of them shoved me back to the edge out of the way but me and my stupid mouth had to make a comment and Isaac and two of his mates heard me and confronted me on the spot. He was going to ‘teach me a lesson’ right then but the mystery guy and his buddies showed up and the team ran off with their tails between their legs. Ever since then the guys has been popping up here and there and using other students to deliver food to me. Yesterday, none of them were around and I guess Isaac saw his chance and he took it, tried to use me as bait but it didn’t go as planned and when mystery guy threatened him after flooring two of the team and with two others risking suffocation at the hands of his buddies, Isaac flipped and him and one of the others kicked me in the ribs twice before one of them lashed out again and got my head that time, knocking me out. I don’t know what happened next or how I got to the hospital though.” I explain as best I can even though I know that I am rambling pretty badly.

“We haven’t got a lot of details but from what we can work out, the headmaster called the ambulance after a student reported it to him. He wouldn’t give a name but apparently there were three kids with you but they left as soon as you were being taken to the ambulance.” My mum provides me with information.

“I want to go back tomorrow. If I take too much time off then I will never catch up even with all of the catch up work available.” I murmur after a few minutes of silence.

I can hear my dad downstairs preparing the evening meal, my mum can cook but my dad is better at the more fancy meals so its left to him when something complicated is suggested for dinner.

“I know you do baby but we’re under orders that we can’t let you out of our sight.” My mum replies sympathetically.

“If I can’t go to the lessons then I want to go in and see the headmaster to say thank you, maybe mystery boy, Luke and Ashton may pop up.” I try to reason and I can see her resolve melting away before she nods slowly.

“Fine, we’ll go but only because we wanted to thank him too.” She finally gives in.

I give her a small smile before making a move to get up when I hear dad call out that dinner is getting close to being done, my mum stays with me as I make my way downstairs and sticks by my side until I reach the table and am safely in my seat. This is has already been a long day but I feel like it’s also going to be a long night if I am constantly being checked on and followed every time I move.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

I take deep breath as I step out of the car. My bruises are still very prominent but they aren’t hurting as much today. I run a hand through my hair as I take a look around and see a few people send me smiles and waves; it shocks me considering I am invisible any other day but I decide not to make a big thing of it and just roll with it. I follow after my parents as they walk with purpose towards the front office, as we walk I watch as people give us space to walk through and some of the football team even make an effort to greet me as I pass them.

The receptionist leads my parents through the corridor and soon we reach the head teacher’s office. We are ushered in and sit in the chairs as we wait for him to come back from getting something or other. I look round when I hear the door open but relax when I see mystery boy, Luke and Ashton come through.

“Had a feeling you might make an appearance as soon as I come back around.” I joke as mystery boy plops into the head teachers chair and the other two send me nods in recognition, running their hands across my shoulder as they pass.

“What can I say? I got quite attached to you so of course I would find a way to see you as soon as you step foot in this school.” Mystery boy speaks, smirking good naturedly at me.

I roll my eyes as I turn my head to my parents who had been instantly on edge when the three turned up, the tattoos on mystery guys arm doesn’t exactly make him seem any less intimidating even to fully grown adults, but seemed to have relaxed now that they have seen my interaction with them.

“Luke, Ashton. Good to see you two as well, even if you are still terrifyingly silent most of the time.” I direct at the silent pair in the room. “You three together have probably saved my life, so thank you for that.”

Luke moves from his perch on one of the filing cabinets in the corner and moves to a crouch next to me. “We don’t protect you because we have to; we do it because we want to. You’re welcome even if we don’t see it as anything more than helping a friend.”

His voice is deeper than I expected but I can’t help but smile, reaching out an arm to see if I can get a hug from him, he lets me as he moves closer and embraces me for a second before moving away again. It wasn’t long but it’s enough because I know it meant a lot, especially to me. Ashton seems to hesitate before seeming to check with mystery boy before moving and he too hugs me after making sure to tell me that he didn’t mind helping me.

“You are more than you see yourself Michael; the people out there are nice to you out of choice, not because they have to. You looked so lost when you got out the car to people greeting you.” Mystery boy speaks.

My parents are listening to and watching everything but deciding not to get involved as they seem to see the boys as my friends even if we have never verbally established that properly.

“How many times have I told you not to sit in my chair?” the head teachers voice makes me jump as it breaks the silence of the room as I was previously processing the situation.

Mystery boy smirks before moving but only to sit on the top of the small shelving unit behind the desk and not far from the chair. The head teacher just shakes his head before sitting down, seeking out the positions of the other two before turning his attention to my parents.

“Ok, sorry to keep you waiting Mr. and Mrs. Clifford, I was told you wanted to speak to me.” Mr Hood finally speaks.

“Actually we wanted to thank you. We were told that without your quick reaction of calling an ambulance and the action you did, we may have lost our son.”

The last part catches my attention, what actions were they talking about?

Luke catches my attention when he motions something and when I follow his gaze I see that mystery guy is watching him before turning his attention to me.

“I think you’re mistaken, I called the ambulance, that part of it is true, but the rest of it was because of my son’s fast responses. If you want to thank anyone for saving his life then it should be my son that you thank.” Mr Hood replies.

“What actions?” I ask quietly.

Mr Hood looks shocked before it seems to click. “You didn’t tell him...”

“Michael, when you got kicked in the head, you stopped breathing and something happened and you nearly swallowed your tongue. Whoever was there, apparently his son, moved your position so that you couldn’t swallow your tongue and performed CPR so you would start breathing again...we didn’t want to tell you because we thought it would scare you.”My mum explains, wiping her eyes as I try to work out what I’ve just been told.

“I basically died...” I mumble, leaning forward and bracing my head on my hands.

“Nearly, but you didn’t.” Mystery guy speaks. “You’re safe and you’re breathing now and that matters more than what happened in the past.”

I look up and meet his gaze before taking a deep breath and sitting back.

“So who should we be thanking for saving my boy?” my dad speaks up for the first time since we stepped foot in here.

Mr Hood turns his chair slightly before nodding to mystery boy. “Calum and his friends have been looking out for your boy for a while, we never thought it would get that bad but he dealt with it.”

I test the name in my head as my parents set about thanking him profusely and saying some other stuff that I don’t hear. I get up and just walk away, leaving out of the nearest exit and just taking in fresh air as I let it sink in.

“It's a lot to take in, we know, but we did what we could.” I hear Ashton behind me.

“I know you did and I am thankful for that, but it just feels weird now...” I sigh as move to sit on the wall nearby, it’s a little way above my hip level but not too hard to climb onto to sit down, watching students around the common area with their friends on the way to their lessons as the bell rings.

“The situation or the people involved in it?” he asks as he sits beside me but leaves a comfortable amount of space between us so that I don’t feel trapped in any way.

“A bit of both.” I answer, trying to organise my thoughts in a way that makes sense. “I just found out I was also killed by another student and that the guy who has been randomly appearing in my life for a while now is the one that saved me, only to be told he is the head teacher’s son and finally getting a name for him.”

He is quiet for a few seconds before nodding slowly. “I get it, it’s confusing, but it won’t feel as bad as you spend time around him. You were unsure about me and Luke but once you got used to us being there you relaxed and didn’t mind that we didn’t talk much. At least you can put a name to a face now.”  He pauses, thinking over his words again before continuing. “You’re his weakness Michael. When you went down, he went berserk and would probably kick Isaac in the head if he could get his hands on him, even now. When we found out you weren’t breathing, me and Luke were lost on what to do but Calum threw himself into getting you to breathe. Luke had to run to the head, both to report what happened to you and to get him to call the ambulance in case our efforts weren’t enough. “

“What happened to him?”

“That depends who we’re talking about here. Isaac was expelled permanently and is currently under police investigation; because of his actions, he nearly killed another student and that has to be dealt with. “

I nod; his actions were harsh and could have had more disastrous consequences so I guess the police investigation is necessary.

“But what about you three? I don’t want to be mean but you all seem too mature to be still going to school.” I mumble, turning my head to face him better.

“Well two of us are finished and Luke should technically be in your year if you went by his age, but he is smarter than he looks so he was allowed to leave school a year early, or as the Americans say, he “graduated” early.” He shrugs before continuing. “As for where you come into this, well, like I said, you’re Calum’s weakness. When you moved to this school, we were in our last year and you kind of stuck out amongst the student body because it’s not often we see many new comers, especially half way through a school year, and most of us have know each other for a long time so new students tend to become pretty obvious. You made Calum curious and he did what he could to find out why you moved here, he even got hold of your school records from your last school from his dad’s office. When he found out about your bullying, even if it didn’t state a reason, he made it his job to look after you and it worked for the most part. We stuck around after we should have technically moved on and his dad didn’t mind us mingling amongst the students to keep you safe and we stayed hidden from you until that time in the corridor. He liked the game of you not knowing his name and all that which is why he never told you until his dad said it today.”

“Ashton...am I just a game to him?” I ask softly, playing with my hoodie sleeves.

“No. It was never a game.” He pauses before turning his body towards me. “You love that Supernatural show so you should understand the reference... “He has this weakness, he likes you.”, and he will do everything he can to protect you. You think that students are scared of us because of how we look but that is far from the truth. They are scared of us because of the lengths we will go to in order to protect you. Calum is not violent unless it comes to someone trying to purposely cause you harm, you saw him in that corridor, the only reason he didn’t come closer or do something himself is because of how much damage he could inflict when pushed hard enough.” Ashton summarises.

“You two aren’t there to do his dirty work, you’re there to stop him seriously hurting someone” I murmur, shocked.

He nods. “Yeah, Luke and I are just as capable of inflicting as much damage but we don’t have as strong as an attachment so we aren’t set off as easily. You’ve seen, or at least heard, the fictional stories of werewolves having anchors that keep them human, well that’s the closest I can think of to describe Calum. You being safe is sort of like his anchor, when you get hurt it sets him off, and if it’s serious enough then nothing short of a miracle can stop him.”

I smile at the comparison as I let the words sink in, Calum does this for me not because he has to but because he wants to and his friends have been there with him both to help me and to keep his anger in check. “What do I do now?” I ask tentatively, as I look up and around me at the school and the few people around.

“Now, we go back and you go home and rest up, while you’re home none of us are around and your safe so we are unneeded. As weird as this will sound, we already know where to go if we need to get there and our numbers are already programmed in your phone. Don’t be surprised if you see Calum at some point tonight or early tomorrow. We’ll be here when you’re ready to come back to this hellhole, take your time to heal and rest, and we will see you when you get back.” It sounded like it was going to finish there but he adds a bit more with a chuckle. “Or, we stay here and wait to see what he has to say right now since their close.” I am confused but look across the common area to the door when he nods his head in that direction.

I nod softly before sliding down off of the wall when I see my parents, the head and the other two walk out of the exit I came out of earlier. Ashton stays on the wall as the other two spot us and race each other over, Luke immediately jumping up next to Ashton when they reach us. Calum stays on the floor, coming to a stop in front of me where I stand leaning back against the wall.

“You good?” He asks quietly.

I glance over his shoulder and spot the head and my parents talking and pretending that they are totally not watching our interactions over here. I smile, looking down at my feet, as I get an image in my head of how cliché this scene must look.

“Yeah, I feel great actually.” I respond, relaxing back against the wall more as I feel like I can finally breathe properly after so long.

Calum smiles and it’s probably the best feature about him, his smile literally lights up everything and really suits him.

“That good then.” He mutters quietly, coming out a little more awkwardly then he obviously intended it to judging by the slight grimace he does after he has spoken, stepping back slightly and glancing towards Ashton. “What are you going to do when you get back?” He inquires when he looks back towards me.

“Hopefully not draw too much attention to myself, and probably wonder when you three will make your appearance.”

“So you don’t want us to leave you alone now you know what weirdo’s we’ve been?” he asks, seeming shocked that I hadn’t pushed them away.

“No, I guess I got attached to you three as much as you seem to have got attached to me. You saved my life, the least I could do is keep you around.” I smile, teasing him slightly with the information I now know.

He pouts, playfully shoving me back softly into the wall causing me to laugh. “You don’t get to use that against me.”

“Oh, I think I might just do that. Ashton is quite the information source, who knows how much I now know about you that I could use against you when and if I wanted to.”

He smirks, bracing one arm on the wall and leaning closer, dropping his voice down to murmur, “Oh, but I don’t think you will.”

I smile as I lean closer to his face, teasing him slightly with the proximity. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” I let my eyes move to my parents before moving closer and to the side, kissing his cheek and whispering in his ear, “Thank you for the past year...” I pause and pull back slightly as I see him shiver slightly and move with me. Smirking, I continue. “...you were amazing, maybe you can show me what else you can do next time I see you.” I let my breath ghost over his ear before pulling back to see his face, biting my lip when I see on his face how worked up he is getting.

I slip out of the gap and move around him, walking backwards towards my parents and the head. I bite my lip when I see Calum sag against the wall, quite obviously affected by what I did.

“Bye boys, see you around.” I call, waving to them as I go.

I stop next to my parents and laugh when I see the other two wave at me but Calum just gives me the finger. The head, his dad, tutts at his sons behaviour but sees the humour too even if he doesn’t know the full story, although I get the idea that he has some clue of what I did especially when he sends me a smirk and waves to me and my parents as we leave.

As we are driving out of the gates to go home, my mum turns in her seat to face me. She is in the passenger seat as my dad drives.

“You are going to kill that boy; he looked like the wall was the only thing keeping him up when we left. You are a tease and you damn well know it.”

I blush as my dad snorts, I know for a fact he wants to laugh but wont risk it while driving.

“Well, I’m not sorry.” I mumble which makes her laugh and my dad give me a look in the rear-view mirror.

“We didn’t think you were.” He replies, turning his full attention to driving as we pull away when the traffic lights turn green.

I can see that my parents are trying and I am proud of them for that. They’ve known for a while that I have no real interest in dating girls and my mum used to regularly point out different guys whenever we went out anywhere, my dad even joined in on the odd occasion but he mostly just laughed at the reactions I gave my mum whenever she felt the need to point anyone out. They are the silent supportive parents and I guess with them away a lot I began to forget what it was like when they were properly around and just how comfortable these types of conversations became over time. They don’t mind that their only child is gay and seeing that right in front of me now just reminds me that I am one of the lucky ones.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

I didn’t go back the day after that discussion with the head teacher, or the day after that either, I took the time to do exactly what Ashton said I should do – heal and rest up. I decided I wanted to make this a whole new start for me; my parents supported my choice and even helped me. I dyed my hair black and got it cut on Saturday and it looks so much better now. We  also went shopping for a new wardrobe that I could wear and feel like myself for the first time in a while, something I can kind of show off in without feeling like I am drawing too much attention.

Instead of finding a pair of sweats and the baggiest sweater available, I grab a white tank top with a union jack print on it, my new skinny jeans, which already have rips on the knees which I didn’t cause this time, a leather jacket we brought and a pair of boots that I already owned but rarely wore before today. I style my hair roughly so that it sticks up a bit on the top and back, the sides come forward and the front makes a fringe going across my forehead. When I am satisfied with the result, I move on to my next thing – my piercing. I’d always had it but I don’t wear it often as it didn’t really go with my previous appearance. I carefully put in my eyebrow piercing and smile when I see how much better it looks now that I’ve grown up a bit. I look over my appearance fully in the mirror and nod in satisfaction, my bruises have started to fade now but they are still a little visible, I don’t mind them there since they’ve stopped hurting now.

I grab my helmet after mulling over how I should get to school, whether I should finally put my license, that I got on Friday, to use or if I should just stick to what I’ve always done – I decide to be independent and drive myself.

I jog down the stair and kiss my mum’s cheek as I pass her in the kitchen, my dad is at the table reading something and I brush my hand across his shoulder as I move past him also. They both insisted on getting up early to see me off and although it is a little weird, it is also comforting – they want to make an effort to be a part of my life again.

I grab some toast and down my coffee before checking my bag, making sure I have the necessary items and no longer carrying the crap I don’t need anymore. This bag is smaller and so much lighter and it works better with my new mode of transport.

“I’m off to school, I might be back straight after but I can’t be sure what my plans will be. I’ll call if I’m going somewhere after or I might end up with followers – not sure yet but it’s just a warning.” I get out as I zip up my bag after putting the lunch my mum made me in there.

“Its fine Michael, we know that we won’t always see you straight away, just let us know what your plans are so we know when to expect you back. Tell your friends they can come round if they would like.” My mum replies, hugging me quickly.

My dad smiles as he walks over, clapping me on the shoulder, he speaks. “Have a good day buddy; you look so much happier already.”

I nod before grabbing my keys and heading out the door. I rev the engine on my bike after shoving my helmet on – thankful now that I use the kind of gel that makes your hair resistant to being pressed down; allowing it to just go back to how you styled once the pressure is removed. That’s another thing my parents got me, my motorcycle. It’s one of the newer models and I have to admit that its looks awesome.

I pull out of the driveway and embrace the feeling of the wind passing me as I roar through the streets. I slow down as I reach the school, wanting to just cruise through and see what happens. As I move through the car park, I chuckle; students who have seen me roll in are getting their friends attention to show them. I find a place to park before sitting back, adjusting the straps of my bag before starting to undo the strap of my helmet and pulling it up and off. I run a hand over my hair, checking to make sure that the gel did what it was supposed to and am happy when it is just like I styled it.

I climb off the bike and put the keys in my pocket. Our school is actually pretty big on protecting its student’s cars and bikes so none of the bikes are put in lock up, although some car owners prefer to lock their cars.

I glance around the parking lot before shrugging off their stares and making my way up to the front doors and through them, nearly sighing when the hall nearly comes to a standstill too. I make my way through, avoiding the girls who put their hand out to try and catch a feel or my attention or god knows what else they could want. I see the boys are scattered around the corridor instead of together, not sure what they were planning to achieve by doing this but whatever.

I find my locker and smirk when students, who had been standing in the way, scurry out of the way to let me through. I open the locker and place my helmet inside before scanning the shelves for anything I might need; coming up empty I shut it again. I feel someone come up behind me, waiting for a second before moving closer and pressing me forward into the cold metal.

“Having fun going through the locker?” I hear a low voice mumble lowly, not far from my ear.

There is still space in front of me as I refused to move too close to the locker and had braced my hands against the metal, I duck my head down to hide the smirk and bite my lip when I feel Calum move closer, trying to get me to move forward again.

“Is this you showing me what you’re capable of or is this you trying to dominate me because I’ve got to admit that I’m liking it so far.” I reply, pushing my shoulder back against him enough to give me room to spin round and face him.

I see Luke and Ashton have moved closer, leaning either side of me.

“Morning boys.” I direct to them, ignoring Calum for a few seconds in favour of sending the boys a smile each.

Ashton smiles back, give me a once over and nodding in appreciation of my appearance. “You look good Michael, better than ever actually.”

Luke hums in agreement, also looking me up and down.

“If I didn’t know any better I would think you’re checking me out.” I joke.

“Oh, they are.” Calum finally speaks, adding more with a more forceful tone. “Too bad they’re both in a relationship and shouldn’t be looking at other people.”

“What can we say? He looks hot; you can’t blame us for looking.” Luke retorts before relaxing back against the lockers as the bell rings.

I bite my lip as I watch the interaction before making a move to leave so that I can go to class.

“Hey, where are you going?” Calum pouts playfully, keeping a hand on my chest.

“To class dipshit. Some of us haven’t left school yet and I can’t afford to go freely running round the corridors all day like you three.”

He huffs, grabbing my hand and pulling me along as we make our way to the heads office. “When I get told to go to class, don’t go pouting because you didn’t get your own way.” I make sure he hears me.

Luke and Ashton follow behind us, laughing at my statement.

As we reach the office, Calum’s just walks straight in apparently scaring his dad who hadn’t been expecting or any of us to honest.

“Michael, good to see you, what can I do for you today?” he directs it at me, ignoring his son and his friends, obviously this happens a lot.

I say nothing, just lifting my hand which Calum still has in a strong grip, and I am quite obviously not making any effort to hold his hand though so it looks like exactly what it is.

“Calum, when I said you could stay here, I don’t remember there ever being an allowance to just take him out of his classes when and if you please. He has to go back.”

Calum tries to look pleading but gives up when his dads resolve does not even waver. Finally, he lets my hand go.

“I want to spend time with him though and he is going to be in classes for ages.” Calum whines, obviously hoping to get me out of something.

“I know you’re attached to him Cal but he still has to gain an education. You can see him during the break and at lunch. Stop being impatient.” His dad replies, not even looking up from the papers he has started to go through.

I hear Ashton and Luke laugh under their breath at Calum who looks so scandalized by his dad’s words. When I glance over at then I see them curled up on a sofa in the corner, Luke basically in Ashton lap. I wiggle my eyebrows teasingly at Ashton who sticks his tongue out at me when he sees what I’m doing and wrapping his arms tighter around Luke to hide his face in Luke's neck.

“But the break is only 15 minutes and lunch is ages away.” Calum tries again.

His dad sits back, finally looking at his son, before sighing. “Michael, let me see your schedule and I’ll see if I can get my son to shut up about his attachment issues.”

I hide my laughter as I move forward and get my timetable out of my bag, handing it over and watching as he assesses my lesson plan for the day. I know I have study hall for an hour and a half just after break and I can tell that the head has noticed this too.

“Calum, if I agree to get him out of his study hall lesson so that you can do whatever it is you want to do, do you agree to actually leave him alone long enough for him to attend the other lessons scheduled for the day?” The head finally speaks as he hands my schedule back.

“I promise.” Calum replies immediately, getting a relieved sigh from his dad.

I stumble when I feel someone pull me back, but when I turn around to see what whoever wants; I smile when I see Luke making grabby hands at me.

“Look at that, one of the bad boys wants me to join in on their cuddle-fest.” I tease; though I move closer so that he can pull me down to join them.

“We’re not bad boys; we just have a unique appearance.” He replies.

Calum moves closer, crouching next to the sofa and taking the schedule out of my hand so that he can work out when I will be available for him to abduct. When he is satisfied he gives it back, Luke lets me go so that I can put it back before grabbing me again.

“You know I have to go to lesson right.” I murmur, getting no response from anyone. Huffing, I continue to speak. “What do you want with me anyway? What was wrong with only seeing me at lunch?”

“He likes you too much to let you out of his sight for too long.” Ashton mumbles quietly, avoiding the hand that tries to hit him right after.

“Do not.” Calum whines. “Those two will be with us so it’s not like anything major is going to happen. Thought about just going up to the football field and hanging around there since the team are out of school today for a match.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” I sit up, wrestling out of Luke’s grip. “My mum wanted me to let you three know that you lot can come round whenever to hang out. Obviously, a warning would be nice if you are coming round and I would prefer not to wake up to one of you having made yourselves at home in my room but it would still be nice to see you outside of school.”

“I was planning to come round at some point anyway so now I have permission its cool. No doubt them two will make appearances even if it’s just to bring you into a “cuddle-fest”.” Calum smirks, moving out of the way so that I can stand up.

As I am brushing off my jacket and getting ready to make a move to go to class, already making my way towards the door, I feel someone grab my hand. I turn to face Calum, raising my eyebrow curiously at him.

“Us three usually hang out at my place after school, I was wondering if you would like to come with.” He risks a glance over his shoulder towards his dad before moving closer and dropping his voice so it’s not as loud anymore. He even intertwines our fingers so that I have to move slightly closer, which helps me be able to hear him considering how low his voice is when he speaks next. “Maybe stay for a little longer after they’ve left and I could follow through with my promise of showing you what else I can do.” He has a hopeful tone in his voice and I can’t help but smile, though I bite my lip to try and hide it.

“I’ll see what I can do.” I reply before moving away and making a move to the door.

“Do we even want to know what he just said?” Ashton jokes from where he is still curled up with Luke.

I smirk, shrugging innocently as I wave to the boys before darting out of the office and making my way to class. I walk through the door and the teacher just stops midsentence and stares as I walk past and to my seat.

“Where have you been?” he asks unsurely.

“I was with the head and his son. We can go into a whole conversation about my whole morning or you could just, you know, continue whatever you were on about so we could learn something and leave again.” I reply, slumping down into my chair and meet his gaze, refusing to back down.

“Try to be on time next time.” He finally says before moving on and refusing to look at me for the rest of the lesson.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as I walk out of the class I have just before break, I feel a hand grab my arm. I move out of the crowd, before facing the person, who is still holding my arm in quite a tight grip.

“Can I help you?” I ask her.

“Hi, I was wondering if you’re free right now. I mean, you’re really hot and I was hoping you would like to hang out with me. Maybe have a little fun while we’re at it.” She speaks in a weird tone that I think she is trying to pass off as flirting. I am more focused on her hand which is creeping its way up my arm, towards the flaps of my jacket as she moves closer.

“I’m kind of busy so that won’t be needed.” I reply, stepping away from her.

“Aw, I’m sure your girlfriend won’t mind if you arriving a little late.” She tries again, following my movement as she once against tries to move closer to me.

“You wouldn’t know, I didn’t ask for your attention and you really fail at flirting so please walk away before you embarrass yourself further.” I grumble, shoving her hands away and trying to get her to realize that there are people laughing at her right now.

Just before she can speak, another girl makes an appearance. “Hannah, you’re embarrassing every female in school right now, so please for the love of god stop begging the guy for something that he has already said no to, in the nicest way possible.”

“It's just a little fun, why are you getting involved?” The first girl, Hannah apparently, snaps before walking away.

The other girl turns around to face me. “I am so sorry for her. I promise we’re not all like that.”

“Oh he knows that. Better go look after your friend before she embarrasses herself again though. She was on route towards the jocks when we saw her just now.” Calum speaks from behind me.

The girl swears before running off after the other girl. I turn to face the boys before puffing out a breath. “Damn, the girls in this school are confusing.”

Calum smirks before motioning with his head towards the field. I follow them before collapsing down on the grass when we reach the other side of the field, careful not to get grass stains on my clothes, as far as we can get from the school but we’re still able to hear the bell.

“She only wanted a bit of fun, Michael.” Luke teases.

“Her idea of fun and mine are very different” I reply, ignoring them when they start to giggle away to themselves.

“So what’s your idea of fun then?” Calum asks curiously after they’ve stopped laughing.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” I mumble, before huffing. “”Won't mind you being a little late.” It’s like she doubted my stamina. She wouldn’t know what any guy is capable of so why is she judging me.” I mimic the girl from earlier before grumbling away to myself.

“I’m sure Calum will be sure to tell her just how wrong she is.” Luke mumbles quickly before running off when Calum makes a grab at him, Calum quickly giving chase.

“He so likes you. “Ashton smiles.

“I doubt it; I have nothing going for me that makes me appealing to anyone.” I reply, using my arm as a pillow.

“Mikey, you’re hot, Luke would agree with me on that one. Calum wouldn’t have gone this far with his whole protection detail if he didn’t see something he liked.” Ashton mumbles, turning on his side as he lies next to me. “However, if you two go as far as testing that stamina thing, I really don’t doubt that what Luke just said might just happen.”

I glare halfheartedly at him, shoving his shoulder so that he falls from where he is basically balancing on his elbow. I make no attempt to say anything though, more focused on avoiding Luke’s limbs when he takes it upon himself to jump on top of us and proclaim protection.

Calum drops down next to me, catching his breath, as Luke stops wriggling and just uses us as a full body pillow. Calum seems to survey the scene before deciding that he also needs to use me as a pillow, I sigh but run my fingers gently through his hair which makes him sigh contently.

That is basically how I spent my free time that the head teacher got me, they weren’t happy when I had to go back to lessons but I promised I would be back later at lunch and then I would be with them after school anyway.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I lean against my bike as I wait for the boys to make an appearance. My helmet is balanced on the handlebars next to me but the bike is not running. I perk up a bit when I see Luke appear out of the crowd with Ashton not far behind. They spot me and quickly make their way over.

“Damn, you really did go for a whole new start, new look and new transport. If I wasn’t already in a relationship, I would totally be all over you right now.” Luke looks surprised by my new ride.

I chuckle but make no comment. We wait around for Calum, just chatting about what everyone has been up to since we last saw each other. I climb onto my bike after a bit, getting ready to go when I see Calum make an appearance out of the front doors.

He admires the bike as he makes his way over. “Wow. Somehow I don’t think I should have been surprised.”

I chuckle but allow him to do whatever it is he is doing as I shoot a quick text to my parents to let them know that I am going out and that I might not be back until late.

“Hey Calum.” I get his attention without looking up from my phone. “If you are intent to go through with those plans, what are you going to do about your parents? Surely they will be home, and don’t forget about that sister of yours that has made sure everyone knows she is back in town.”

He grumbles. “Mali is with her boyfriend tonight since I complained about him coming to our house because my room is next door to hers and I don’t appreciate the audio. As for my mum, I’m pretty sure she is having a girl’s night with a few of her friend tonight, so it’s only going to be us and my dad in the house.”

Ashton and Luke chuckle at that while I just wrinkle my nose and put my phone away. “Whatever, are we going now or are we staying here until we get kicked out?”

“We’re going.” Calum states, before looking unsure. “I don’t feel like third wheeling with them, any chance of a ride?”

“I would but I don’t have another helmet with me.” I reply as I pull mine on properly.

Calum gets one off Luke who apparently owns a bike and keeps his helmet in Ashton car, before making himself comfortable behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist. We race ahead of the other two, Calum giving me directions and soon we make it to his neighborhood which isn’t actually far from my house.

“I don’t know how my dad does it but he gets home before me every time.” Calum says loud enough for me to hear as their driveway comes into view with a car already in it. I feel him look over his shoulder before he is speaking to me again. “The boys are just behind us. Pull up next to the garage and the boys will park behind my dad’s car.”

I nod to show I heard before following through with his orders, noting that his dad has opened the front door and is watching as his son gets off the bike, taking off his helmet almost immediately and heading towards Luke to give it back as the other two leave their car quite quickly after parking up.

I turn the engine off and take the keys out of the ignition. I undo the strap and pull the helmet up so that it’s still on my head but you can see my face. I notice the shocked look Calum’s dad gives me and smirk.

Calum comes back over to me and takes my helmet off my head, I run my hand through my hair to make sure it’s not crazy and am impressed that the gel is still working.

I get off the bike and take my helmet back off of Calum. “Don’t be a nuisance, I could still go home.”

He pouts, grabbing a hold of my sleeve so I can’t go anywhere. I laugh but follow him when he starts to move towards the door and nod in greeting to his dad on the way past.

I can’t help but laugh though when his dad shouts up the stairs that we have to keep the door open. He may be my head teacher but he makes a funny parent, as if Calum or his friends are going to do anything. To be honest, no teenager is stupid enough to make their intentions obvious when they bring someone home with them. Calum is over exuberant but even he knows that his dad has more of an idea what Calum is like with people he is interested in, Calum must be pretty obvious in his dad’s eyes though if he feels like he needs to remind Calum of that.

We all hang out in his room, messing around on the consoles and just being boys for a bit. After a while of gaming, Luke points out that other than what is one file, they don’t really know that much about me.

“So, why did you choose this school?” Ashton asks.

“When we moved, we looked at all the schools in the area and what kinds of things have been known to go on in each one but at the end it was down to me where I wanted to go. I chose that school because it is the most accepting one and as far as I could find there were no instances of bullying for the reason that I left my old school. Yeah, there’s the hierarchy thing but other than that it is pretty chill here.” I explain, sitting back against the head board of Calum’s bed.

“Your old school was that bad?” Luke sits up, paying more attention now.

I hesitate before nodding. “For me, yeah. It had strict beliefs and people had to earn their place within the student body hierarchy.  When it happened, I lost my place and nobody will help you when you’re at the bottom of that ladder. It had a bad influence on my psychological health and I made bad decisions, started to self harm and, at my lowest point, I contemplated suicide but I made the decision to get out of there before it got too far.”

The boys stay silent, Ashton and Luke visibly saddened by my story. Calum seems determined though, to do what I’m not sure but determined none the less.

“When you say strong beliefs, you mean along the lines of being homophobic, don’t you?” He mumbles.

I sigh sadly, playing with my jacket which is in my lap right now, nodding softly.

Luke darts up off of the floor and wraps himself around me, his form of giving comfort I suppose. I wrap an arm around him and lean my head down against his, closing my eyes as I feel them sting slightly as the urge to cry makes an appearance though I try to push it back.

Ashton and Calum make quiet conversation and Luke and I just hold each other and I remember the times when I lost everything and nearly took myself out of the equation that is my life. Eventually I pull away from him, sitting up and pulling my knees to my chest after kicking off my shoes so that I don’t dirty Calum’s bed.

“One year later and I still can’t forget it.” I mumble to myself.

“I don’t think anyone would be able to forget a time in their life when something like that happens to them.” Ashton replies, opening his arms up for Luke to snuggle into as he and Calum swap places.

Calum comes over and pulls at me until he is content with me leaning into his side. He rests his chin gently against my head, before moving to nuzzle against my temple.

“What they said doesn’t matter anymore because you have us now. We’re your friends and we’ll be here for you when it gets too much for you.” He mumbles against my temple before whispering. “I’ll be here for you, I’ll look after you. I promise.”

I snuggle more against him and soon they decide that the TV downstairs is better for movies so we move to the living room and watch an Avengers movie, Calum’s dad was even nice enough to order us all pizza.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashton and Luke left 15 minutes ago and Calum and I are deciding what we should do now. He seems to be more awkward around me when it’s just us, like Ashton and Luke are his confidence boosters and when they’re not here, he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

“Calum, you don’t have get all awkward on me now. I’m not going to change just because your friends aren’t here anymore.” I reassure him when he fidgets again; we’re still downstairs right now because Calum wasn’t sure if his dad would be comfortable with us alone and a whole floor between us. I look over towards the kitchen where I last saw his dad at the table, marking or doing something. “C’mon, we’re not going to be doing anything too bad. We’re teens, what could we possibly do that your dad wouldn’t know about.” I joke, tugging at his arm.

Calum gives me a look before pulling me up and we run off back upstairs, laughing though when we hear Calum’s dad shout about the door being open again, though Calum just pointedly slams it shut just to spite him. He doesn’t lock it though so he obviously doesn’t feel too mischievous.

I collapse back onto his bed, grinning cheekily at Calum when he looks unsure again. “I thought you wanted to show me what else you could do.

“I do but with your whole makeover thing going on, I’m not sure I can give you anything decent.” He mutters, blushing at the end.

I sit up, grabbing his hand gently before prompting him to move towards me and stand between my legs.

“I don’t mind. Honestly, we don’t have to do anything major. Just spending time with you doing anything is more than enough for me.” I murmur, nuzzling at his stomach as I run my hand up and down the back of his thighs, not in a suggestive way, just as reassurance.

I move back on the bed, smiling softly when he kicks off his shoes and follows me, crawling over me and straddling my thighs as I lie back and let him control the situation.

I may be a bit of a loner but it doesn’t mean I have no experience. I know what it’s like to be unsure and how trusted you feel when the other person lets you be the one to control it, hence why I let Calum make the first move. It goes at his pace whatever happens.

He breathes out shakily as he leans down but relaxes when I move one of my hands to hold his. He brushes his lips against mine briefly before properly initiating a kiss. He keeps it chaste for a little while, obviously unsure about something but he seems to gain confidence slowly when nothing seems to go wrong. Softly, he runs the tip of his tongue over my bottom lip, asking permission to deepen the kiss. When I open my mouth and let him in, his whole body shifts to loom over me more as he seems determined to explore it all.

I groan softly when he nips at my bottom lip but have to nudge him back when I start to lose my breath. He backs off immediately looking confused and unsure about if he did something wrong. I lean up though, wrapping one hand around his neck to bring him close enough for me to seal our lips into another kiss, pulling back again to speak.

“You did nothing wrong but I have to breath.”

He bites his lip nodding before leaning down again but not going in for a kiss this time, instead he starts to press kisses to my neck, obviously looking for something. Apparently he finds it though when he makes me squirm, I can feel him smile against my neck as he starts to attack that spot again leaving me squirming and trying hard to stay quiet. As much as I like his dad, I really don’t want to get his attention because I would never live this down.

When Calum finally let’s up on that spot, I switch our positions, rolling us until I am on top and kissing him deeply, effectively taking his breath away. Soon, I find his sweet spot too but I am not as much of a tease as Calum so I only give it some stimulation before moving on. I move down his body until I am straddling his legs, hoping that he doesn’t kick me when I do what I have planned. I run my fingers slowly down his body before they reach the hem of his shirt. Instead of immediately trying to pry his shirt off, I look up and meet his gaze, asking silently if he wants to do continue this. When he hesitates, I lean up and connect our lips. It takes a second before I feel him relax and he pulls away long enough to nod but keeps a hand on my neck so I don’t move away. I comply with his wishes, letting him control our kiss as I push his shirt up and lay my palm on his heated skin, feeling his abdominal muscles contract and relax under my hand.

He is the first to pull back this time, moving one of his arms under his head to rest on but allow an angle for him to still see what I’m doing. I move back to where I was, leaning down and kissing gently at his exposed hip bones, glad now that his trouser hang so low or they would have been hidden from me. He seems to get with the idea, taking his shirt with his own free hand and pulling it further up and exposing more skin to me and most of his chest. I lock eyes with him before starting to place kitten licks in a line up and down his chest. His bites his lip to try and muffle the sound he makes, obviously liking something about that.

He sits up suddenly and I move quickly out of the way, but he only pulls his shirt off and throws it onto the floor somewhere. I smile before nudging him back again, him going down with no fight; I repeat the licks and kisses a few more time before Calum gets my attention.

“Mikey…” He pauses, squirming slightly before seeming to just go for it. “I was wondering if you would try something for me. I never had the chance to try it and I really want to.”

“Hey, its fine. Let me know what you want me to do and I’ll do it for you, no complaints, I promise.” I answer honestly.

He takes a deep breath before taking one of my hands, running it up until it reaches his chest and leaving it there. I catch on nearly straight away.

“You want to know if you’re sensitive, huh?” I murmur, splaying my hand out on his chest, watching how his breath stutters with my words and action.

I smile before doing with him what the people I have been with before have liked to have done to them. He is definitely sensitive but he is too tense for it to work properly. I get an idea and quickly ask if he trusts me, to which he nods. I move our positions so that I am positioned between his legs as he places his feet flat on the bed either side of me.

I lean fully over him and use one of my arms to keep me up, placing my hand over his mouth, I whisper in his ear. “Can't have you making too much noise, wouldn’t want to let your dad know what you’re up to.”

I lock eyes with him, and seeing the trust in them, I lean down and use my mouth this time instead, smirking when he arches his hips into mine basically at the first touch and going lax and pliant beneath me.

Since we’ve established that he is indeed sensitive, I move my hand and instead replace it with my lips again. I’m not going to abuse his sensitive spots because I don’t like doing that to people. He moves his free hand, that had landed on my neck when I had been testing his sensitivity earlier, moves and reappears near the hem of my shirt.  It starts to work its way up, and Calum makes a point to scrape his nails down my back every time I groan as he nips at my lip, he caught on pretty quickly that it has an effect on me. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him, however he sees it, the action makes me rut against him and makes his situation worse. I can already feel it and I can say from experience that being stimulated while unable to do anything about is very uncomfortable and frustrating. I catch his hand when it travels to my waistband, as great as this is; I’m not throwing myself into something that cannot be taken back once done.

“We can’t Cal. We can do anything but these are staying on.” I pull back to tell him, getting an annoyed grumble from him.

I pull my shirt over my head when it starts to bunch up under my arms and Calum uses my movement to his advantage as he flips us over, deepening the kiss that starts up again and exploring anywhere he didn’t get chance to earlier as he runs his nails down my chest and abdomen, inevitably making red lines that will fade but will probably be very prominent right now. I pull back for air, turning my face away from him when he goes in for another kiss before I’ve got my breath back, but he just brushes it off and instead starts to kiss at my collar bone and leave another mark.

I try to push him away when I hear a door slam shut from downstairs, Calum obviously hears it too but he just tells me that it’s probably his dad or something and I give in when he starts another heated kiss to take my mind off of it. I am running my hands through his hair as he sucks softly on my tongue when I hear his door slam against the wall behind it.

Calum and I instantly part, looking towards the door where his sister stands smirking at her brother.

“Dad, Calum has a boy in his room.” She suddenly shouts loud enough for their dad to hear downstairs.

My eyes widen as I scramble to find my shirt when I hear Calum’s dad move towards the stairs. Calum seems to get how bad this might look as he jumps off the bed and finds his shirt from where he threw it earlier.

“Mali, no, shut up.” He rushes out when she calls down to their dad again.

“Mali, I know he has someone over. I’m not blind.” I hear their dad from the bottom of the stairs but he doesn’t sound like he is getting closer.

Calum seems to give up trying to get her to shut up as he comes back and slumps down onto the bed, covering his face. I look between them before rubbing his leg comfortingly, smiling softly when one of his hands moves to grab mine and intertwine our fingers.

“But his door was shut. Isn’t that breaking the rules?” Mali calls, smiling sweetly at Calum when he lifts his head to glare at her.

I hear a sigh before footsteps are present climbing up the stairs and their dad makes an appearance. I let go of Calum’s hand when he gets close. “I know his door was shut, he slammed it earlier. You may think I don’t notice things but I definitely noticed that one.”

He is a tough head master at school but he is so chill at home that it makes you wonder how he does it. It is literally like two people within one body – one is the tough head master and the other is the chill, easy to get along with dad.

“But it’s not fair, how come I can’t have my boyfriend over with the door shut but you’ve left them up here alone with the door shut for god knows how long?” Mali whines.

“Mali, they’ve been up here an hour, if that.” That piece of information makes me and Calum look at each other shocked, it felt like less than that. “Anyway, Calum and Michael are close. You make it sound like I don’t know what Calum is like.”

Calum whines at that, sitting up with an indignant look on his face. “Mali, stop being dramatic, I wasn’t doing anything. And dad, please don’t say anything incriminating here.”

I chuckle at his words but whine when he shoves me off the bed. “Ouch asshole.” I grumble as I get off the floor and kick him lightly after taking over his bed.

“It's not fair dad, I get in trouble for that but he gets away with it.” Mali whines.

“Stop right there young lady, did I ever say that I had allowed him to shut the door?” Calum’s dad goes into lecture mode and I shrink back in case it gets turned on me. Calum even moves in front of me, as if he can shield me from any of the words that could be said. Mali goes to say something before stopping herself and instead shaking her head. “Exactly. I didn’t say he could but he shut it anyway. As for not allowing your boyfriend up here, that is a whole other argument.”

Calum smirks triumphantly at his sister but stops immediately when his dad gives him a look. “I know you better than you think Cal, you’re lucky that Michael is a sensible boy or you would be in more trouble than you are.”

Calum looks shocked before frowning confused, looking towards me but I’m not sure what his dad is implying either so I can only offer a shrug as I move one of my arms to use as a pillow since I am laying the wrong way to lay on his. Even Mali looks confused, but she brushes it off and moves towards me and drops down next to Cal, waving to me as I give her a smile back.

“What are you on about? The door would be the trouble part of it but what has Mikey got to do with this?” Calum asks slowly.

I watch his dad give him a strange look, as if saying “Are you an idiot” without actually saying the words, but I am distracted when I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I squirm to get it while Calum’s dad moves into the room and shuts the door behind himself, before dropping down into Calum’s desk chair.

I check my texts and see a message from Ash.

**_Ashton – How’s it going?_ **

_Mikey – Calum’s sister is trying to get us in more trouble. Calum shut the door so he’s already in trouble anyway. Now I’m stuck here while they both get lectured and I just got brought into this...fun._

**_Ashton – Ouch. Hope it was worth it otherwise that sucks._ **

_Mikey – Don’t be dirty Ashton. Leave that kind of conversation for your boyfriend. :P_

**_ Ashton – _ ** _**Don’t pretend to be innocent Michael, we both know that is not the case however much you try and hide it.**_

_Mikey – Shut up._

I shut my phone off after that and tune back into the conversation just in time to hear why I am brought into it, great.

“Okay, we’ve been over the rules again but I’m going to ask again why Mikey was brought into this?” Calum speaks, leaning back on my legs; I squirm but make no move to make him get off.

“He is a sensible lad and that is why I didn’t come storming up here when you slammed the door shut. Honestly, I would have been more surprised if you hadn’t jumped at the opportunity to get up to a lot more while you were alone.” His dad raises an eyebrow pointedly at him. “Like it or not, I actually came up here not long before Mali came home and I may have checked on you. He may have let it get this far but I distinctly heard him tell you that he won’t go further.”

Mali looks doubtfully at her brother before turning to me. “Your two teenage boys running on 90% hormones, you cannot tell me that you weren’t going to go there.” I give her a scandalised look.

“Well believe it because he denied me.” Calum grumbles.

She gives me an impressed look and their dad actually looks proud that we’re getting along and the siblings are no longer arguing.

“Seriously? What happened?” she keeps her focus on me but I can tell even their dad is curious why I wouldn’t jump at the chance I had.

I sit up, pulling my feet from under Cal and crossing my legs so that the other two can get on the bed properly. I look to their dad who raises an eyebrow but obviously wants an answer at some point. I sigh before speaking. “I like to mess around as much as any other guy, but we barely know that much about each other. We may like each other but that’s not enough to just jump straight into stuff like that.” They all look impressed with that, but stay quiet since I have more to say. “Plus, I may have already figured out that I have more experience with this kind of stuff than Calum.” I give him an apologetic smile before continuing. ”I may have rushed through everything when I had my chance and it wasn’t all that great and I got hurt. The other person didn’t care, we weren’t close and I was just another desperate kid to them.” I can’t look at any of them when I finish. “They were part of the reason I left my old school.”

Calum scrambles towards me and wraps his arms around me. Mali looks confused then it seems to dawn on her what that actually meant and their dad sits back, looking so shell-shocked and hurt.

“You didn’t leave that school because you wanted to; you left because you had to.” He mumbles, not exactly looking for an answer but I still nod anyway.

I shrug it off, nudging Calum away and letting him wrap himself along my side. I watch his sister’s reaction before sighing and kissing the top of his head when he wraps his hand in my shirt.

“You're the Michael that Cal spent a year protecting because he had a bad feeling about what made them move.” She mutters, eyes locked on me, to which I nod.

I refuse to say any more about my past after that, wanting to put it all behind me and forget it. We all go downstairs to watch another film after that anyway although I have a feeling it’s more so that Calum’s dad can keep an eye on us. Mali decides to call off her plans and stay in with her brother, dad and mum who comes back at 8pm.

At half nine, I go upstairs to get my bag and helmet. Once I come downstairs and Calum sees me with my stuff in my hand, he jumps over the back of the sofa and wraps his arms around me.

“Calum, I have to go home. My parents want me home at some point and we have school tomorrow so I have to go home.” I sigh as wrap one of my arms around him.

My bag is on my back now that I’ve put my jacket back on and my other hand holds my helmet so that’s why I’m not wrapping that one round him.

“Why can’t you stay though?” he whines half-heartedly.

“Because I can’t. C’mon, I have to leave soon or it will be dark.” I nudge him back.

I see his dad come over to pry Calum off of me. “His parents want to spend time with him too Cal, you’ll see him tomorrow.”

Calum grumbles but lets me go. “Fine, but I will definitely find you at your locker tomorrow morning.”

I smile but nod in confirmation, waving to his mum and sister before turning to leave. Nodding to his dad before slipping out of the front door. Just as I stick the key in the ignition, having already climbed on my bike, I hear the front door open and two pairs of footsteps run out laughing.

Calum runs over and pulls me into a kiss straight away, and I am glad that I hadn’t put my helmet on yet. When he pulls away he smiles before letting his sister hug me.

“Look at you Cal, getting it on with a biker boy. At least he’s hot.” She teases before wrapping her arm around his shoulder jokingly once she releases the hug, letting go quickly when i turn the ignition since it scared her.

I laugh, slipping on my helmet and revving up the engine. I send Calum a wink before slipping the visor down and into place. I turn the bike around and salute them jokingly before setting off, speeding down the road and hoping to beat the night that is quickly rolling in. I sigh happily when I roll down our driveway, switching off my headlight just before the door flies open. I turn the bike off and get off, taking off my helmet before greeting my mum with a hug when he reaches me.

“When you said late, I didn’t think you meant this late.” She mumbles, though she is smiling when she pulls back. “I’m glad you’re safe baby.”

I laugh but let her lead me indoors after getting my keys and putting my bike in the garage. We talk about our days and I don’t mention anything about Calum, some things are meant to stay private even with your parents. Soon I am yawning and heading up to bed, not being able to wait for the next day to roll around.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I waste no time in the morning, getting to school a little earlier in the hopes of being able to spend more time with Cal. I wait at my locker, having already gotten everything I would need if this doesn’t work, and watch out for any of the boys. I smile when I see Luke who seems surprised that I beat them here.

“Woah, it must be the end of the world. Michael Clifford is in school early. Call the news crews, we need to document this.” He says dramatically, laughing when I playfully shove him before wrapping me in a hug. “Ash told me what happened last night, which had to have sucked so I am here to comfort you and say that I know the feeling.”

I chuckle but wrap my arms around him in return. Ashton appears and starts laughing when he sees me.

“Laugh it up Irwin. I’m sure you love it when it happens to you as well. I’ll be sure to laugh when it happens to you next time just so you know.” I snap, pulling him into my other side, noting how Luke puts his arm around Ashton's waist but slips his hand into his back pocket. “Luke, can you not cop a feel of your boyfriend’s ass right in front of me.”

“Get used to it, Calum will do it to you when he can get his hands on you.” Ashton retorts as they both move away again.

“What will I do?” Calum asks as he appears, wearing a tank top and I wince when I see the bruise blossoming on his neck and the top of the trail of marks I made that goes from his chest to the bottom of his abs. I think I also may have left a mark on his hip bone too.

“Holy shit Cal, I’m not surprised you got a lecture off your dad. Anyway, I was saying about how you will probably put your hand in his back pocket like Luke does to me.” Ashton replies, eyeing the bruises.

Calum nods before crashing himself into my chest. I chuckle but wrap my arms around him, kissing his temple before resting my cheek on his head.

“Told you I would see you today.” He mumbles into my jacket.

“I know you did.” I reply as I let him go. I bite my lip before looking round at the guys. “So I may have had my mum call up the head this morning to ask if I could have the day off and if she promised that all four of us would stay at my house, if you lot could come with...” I pause.

Calum is instantly listening. “And, what’d he say?”

“Well, I had to promise I would stop you again if anything happened but...he said yes.”

Calum and the boys cheer before we run back out of the front doors, shouting hello’s to Calum’s dad as we run past him in the car park. Calum grab Luke's helmet again before jumping on the bike behind me when I pull up beside him. I slow down to a stop next to the head when he motions to me.

“Look after him Michael.” He directs at me before directing the rest at Calum. “Behave yourself, if plans change then I expect you to let me know and be careful, I was a teen once so I know what it’s like in the moment but I know Michael will look after you.”

After that we set off, Ashton following me even though he had already told that they knew where I lived. When I pull up, my mum is once again at the front door. I let Calum off of the bike before pulling it into the garage. As I turn from shutting the garage door, I see Calum waiting for me.

I pull him into my side after we enter the house, feeling him slip his hand into my back pocket like Ashton said he would, but I just send him a playful glare with no heat behind it at all. I see my mum send me a fond smile when Calum nuzzles against me while we’re all talking in the kitchen, but I don’t mind. It felt like I went through hell to get here but look at what it’s got me. My protector turned out to be the living depiction of a human puppy behind closed doors and somehow I don’t even mind that he is so pliant around me. It marks a new start and I don’t mind showing Calum what this life is all about, it will make a change considering he is used to being the one in control around school.

He won’t admit it, but the control freak likes to be the submissive one, who would have guessed?

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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